How Much Money is Too Much Money to Spend on a Denim Jacket?

I remember seeing this girl leave the Theyskens’ Theory show four seasons ago. That was when the brand’s title still maintained the anterior Theyskens’ last name as a precursor and uncharacteristically held shows at The Park Avenue Armory.

My reaction to the arresting holes and shredding on her pants (are they pants?) was akin to the reaction that a BuzzFeed writer might have upon learning that a viral top-ten list, written by someone else, is flourishing elsewhere, which is to say, Why didn’t I think of that and exploit it first?

The thing of it is, unlike in the case of the hypothetical BuzzFeed writer, even if I did think of it, how would I have been able to execute such articulate and deliberate damage to a pair of jeans that likely had to be cut (silhouette-wise) very precisely in the first place to function, sans front-thigh-covering, this successfully? They’re essentially denim cut-offs that come with corresponding shin guards and for that bite of brilliance, four seasons ago, a unilateral google image search ensued.

What I learned is that the pant-short-shin-things and the analogous frayed jacket (which, frankly, makes the damn look) come care of a London-based designer called Marques’Almeida. Online, I could see the denim, I could see myself in the denim, but it was no where to be purchased. No price tags, no shopping carts, just fairy dust left over from my dejected hope.

Almost immediately, I fell down a rabbit hole that rendered anything unripped obsolete. And it took time to climb out from said hole but I did it. Then, as fate and my unusual fortune would have it, Google Chrome left me face to screen staring a similar, up-for-purchase jacket, pants still effectively mythical, in the pupil-less eye last week.

I would settle for the jacket and forgo the jeans. Of course! Beggars can’t be choosers after all. But then, prices uncovered, shopping cart in near distance and burgeoning hope back on my side, it occurred to me that at a stifling $416 per jacket, I might have to become a beggar to afford to look like one. So will I do it? Should I do it?

For the purpose of this far-from-conundrum and of course, to get you talking, I have to ask — and bear in mind my ethos, that you can’t really put a price tag on flagrant creativity: how much money is too much money to spend on a jean jacket?

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well, i brought marques a jeans and they were a lot of $$. they are also ridiculous but then again just last week i told you about some jeans that cost like 1000$ and then i saw yesterday that you were wearing said jeans so i guess you brought them anyway. the point of this comment is to say that no amount is too much. there is no such thing as too much.

Leandra Medine

I used a gift card PRESSSSSCOD.

dp

you always have an answer for your splurges dont cha

therealDP

WHO DA FUCK WROTE THAT^^^ it was NOT me (THE REAL DP)

Margaret

I bought my first denim jacket while I was in Barcelona last summer for $25. It was inexpensive and I love it! It’s made by Stradavirus…really odd name, great jacket.

Anything over 20 quid is too much for a denim jacket (although i’m pretty bloody thrifty). They’re jeans but with arms! Don’t spend any more than you would on jeans so, in that instance, it’s all relative. eBay darling….eBay. That is all.

for most people, fifty bucks would be the limit, but i’m no economist so it could be 75 or it could be twenty depending on the person. for YOU obviously the sky is the limit. ahhhh, to have no monetary boundaries….

Sab

Consignment stores… Got two leather and one denim….they are great.

Victoria

haha, as a student, no more than 30 dollars! But a little birthday money can get me further than that 😉 But in general I just stick to thrifting or etsy for denim jackets

Shawna McComber

Now that outfit just screams fashion victim. The jacket is cute, the jeans are stupid unless you make them yourself by ripping up a pair from the thrift shop and then it is creative brilliance. I refuse to spend over $30 for jeans or a denim jacket.

I wouldn’t spend more than $20 on a jean jacket. Not because I don’t love them (trust me, they are everything), but because I’ve had decent luck with getting them for $3-$5 bucks in thrift stores.

Charlotte Fassler

Me too! That’s when it comes to pretty good standards like a Levi brand one… I feel like this Marques’Almeida one has a totally different vibe so to me it begs a different question…. But when it comes down to forking over a lot of dough for an Acne one that looks like Levi I would bow out.

I would sell my house for a Pollack, but not give $5 for a Monet. The question is, if the item can be valued only by you, what are you willing to forego in its acquisition?

Laura

Pollock. Pollack is a flakey white fish. I wouldn’t suggest swapping your house for one.

MargaretInArabia

Thank you.

Jessica

I assumed that this was a very typical denim jacket we were talking about, but all it took was clicking the link and being immediately seduced by the dark wash-meets-atypical-cut for me to be convinced that it is worth the four-hundo.You can wear this shee-yot with everything and anything, so I say do it.

Well, up to 50 € if it is a regular jean jacket; I’d even sweat out 100 € if it is special (military look, special buttons or add ons) but if I wanted a shredded one, I’d just go and see if Oxfam sells any used jackets – regardless of the size. And then I’d cut them, the ugliest one to learn and the best one in the end. I used to (learn how to) make backpacks out of jeans that way and loved quite a few of them.

Oh and: I agree, both the dress and the jacket are way too ugly. I’d not want them if paid…

hickster

I paid 150 for mine, but as a petite person finding one that fit this perfectly was a dream come true!!!!!

AP

Not directly related to the subject but… Marques’Almeida are in fact two designers, not just one. One is Marta Marques and the other one is Paulo Almeida!

Inês

And they are Portuguese, not British. Although they are in fact based in London.

The Haute Pursuit used to sell jeans exactly like that! However I believe they are out of stock now.

Ai-Ch’ng GB

For a straight-up “normal” denim jacket, no more than $25, as I’ve bought good ones in different lengths and cuts (shrunken/fitted/baggy/longer length/cropped) in all manner of washes and finishes and even funky ones that the sellers have customised (a little like the one above), off Etsy and eBay.

rosalinda

spent two hundred for a rag and bone on sale … it is beautiful and well constructed, but that is my max.

LilyP

i feel like denim is really one of those areas where designers are REALLY just ripping people off. Its DENIM, people! what would i spend for jean jacket? probably no more than $5 thrifted.

Yana Stone

Well, everything depends on a budget and the kind of jacket you want. I think that if you need to choose for what to spend a lot of money then it’s better to choose shoes, jewelry, hand bags or other accessories. I wouldn’t choose a denim jacket. But if I was a rich girl and I hadn’t to make choice then maybe I would spend 1-2 thousand dollars for designer jacket with some interesting and unusual decorations. But unfortunately, I’m not a rich girl and from time to time I even use small loans available online to pay my bills so I can only dream of exclusive and expensive denim jacket.